FORT SMITH, Ark. — Police in Fort Smith have arrested a man they say stole a vehicle with a 6-month-old child in the backseat on Tuesday (March 23). The suspect later left the child at a gas station.
According to Fort Smith Police PIO Aric Mitchell, on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, Fort Smith officers were called to a home on Park Avenue about a kidnapping.
A woman told police she arrived at the home to pick up a friend, and after stepping away from her vehicle to knock on the door, a man walking by jumped inside her car and drove off. The woman's 6-month-old child was in the backseat of the vehicle, according to Mitchell.
The suspect, identified as Rex Steward, left the child at the Food Mart on Grand Avenue and abandoned the vehicle on North 37th Street, then ran from the scene, Mitchell says.
Surveillance video from a nearby gas station showed Steward walking west on North O Street.
Police have located Steward and he has been arrested. He is facing multiple charges, including kidnapping and theft of property.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article stated that the suspect's name was Rex Stewart. His name has been corrected to Rex Steward.